By Isatou Sarr
The Gambia’s Special Prosecutor, Martin Hackett, has outlined an evidence-based strategy for prosecuting crimes identified by the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), stressing the need to uphold the rights of defendants and ensure fair trials.
Speaking Friday at a town hall meeting with legal practitioners at the Ocean Bay Hotel in Cape Point, Hackett said his office was building potential cases around evidence and established principles of criminal liability.
He said prosecutors were examining potential cases not only against alleged direct perpetrators but also individuals suspected of ordering, planning, encouraging or assisting criminal acts.
The office is also considering potential liability involving individuals who may have exercised command, control or influence over serious criminal conduct, he said.
“These are modes of liability that we are actively looking at in our case building,” Hackett said.
The Special Prosecutor’s Office was established under the Special Accountability Mechanism to pursue criminal cases arising from the TRRC’s findings and recommendations and the government’s White Paper.
The TRRC investigated human rights violations committed during former President Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year rule.
Hackett said his office was reviewing the TRRC’s recommendations, assessing available evidence and developing investigative plans.
Once sufficient funding is secured, investigators will begin interviewing witnesses to obtain evidence that meets the standards required in criminal proceedings, he said.
He noted that some victims who testified before the TRRC might need to be interviewed again because evidence collected during a truth commission process does not necessarily meet all the evidentiary requirements of a criminal trial.
Hackett stressed that evidence would have to be securely preserved and that prosecutors would be required to disclose relevant material to the defence, including evidence that could undermine the prosecution’s case or assist the accused.
He said the office was also developing evidentiary strategies, secure information systems and standard operating procedures while seeking financial and technical assistance from foreign governments and international organizations.
Among the areas under review are enforced disappearances, mass graves and exhumations, which could require forensic expertise, cross-border cooperation and mutual legal assistance.
Cases involving unlawful killings are also expected to rely heavily on witness testimony, he said.
Hackett said victims would remain central to the prosecution process, particularly in cases involving sexual and gender-based violence.
“Sexual and gender-based violence requires investigators trained to take court-standard statements from survivors,” he remarked.
He disclosed that his office was seeking support from international organisations and foreign embassies to train investigators in conducting such interviews thoroughly and sensitively.
The aim, he said, was to obtain comprehensive accounts while reducing the need to repeatedly interview survivors, which could compound their trauma.
Hackett, who previously worked in Britain as an accredited rape and sexual violence prosecutor and counterterrorism prosecutor, stressed that specialized investigative training would be essential to developing cases capable of withstanding scrutiny in court.
He also urged prosecutors and defence lawyers to approach the proceedings as a shared responsibility towards the justice system, particularly because cases before the Special Division of the High Court could involve former senior government officials, military personnel and police officers.
“There isn’t a perfect prosecution any more than there is a perfect defense,” he said, acknowledging that mistakes could occur but arguing that careful preparation and cooperation could minimize them.
Hackett said the same balance should guide the treatment of vulnerable witnesses during trials.
While defence lawyers must be allowed to challenge evidence and ask legitimate questions, witnesses and victims must also be treated with dignity and respect, he said.
“It’s about having a fair trial. It’s about being fair to the defendant and allowing defense counsel to ask proper questions of a victim. But it’s also being fair to that victim, that that victim is still treated with respect,” he buttressed.
He said the prosecution would bear the burden of proving allegations beyond reasonable doubt, while defense lawyers must be free to represent their clients vigorously.
Ultimately, he added, it would be for the courts to determine whether allegations had been proved.
Hackett also stressed that individuals who may eventually be charged should be treated as defendants against whom allegations must still be established, rather than as persons already found guilty.
He said the office’s work would extend beyond collecting witness statements to include witness care and protection, measures to preserve anonymity where necessary, special courtroom arrangements, preparation of indictments, disclosure of evidence to defense lawyers and broader case management.
Hackett said his previous experience included serving as chief war crimes prosecutor for the European Union in Kosovo and as a senior prosecutor at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in The Hague.
He also said he had advised Ukraine on prosecutions involving allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity.
He said his 17 years of criminal law practice in Manchester, England, including extensive work representing defendants, had given him an appreciation of the challenges faced by defense lawyers and reinforced the importance of trust between prosecutors and defense counsel.
Hackett described The Gambia’s transitional justice framework as distinctive because it combines the findings of the TRRC with domestic prosecutions and plans for a special tribunal.
He said the fundamental requirements for prosecuting serious crimes remained the same: investigators must listen to victims, document their accounts, gather credible evidence and build cases while respecting the rights of defendants.
“Work together to deliver justice,” Hackett told the participants.
Neneh M.C. Cham, President of The Gambia Bar Association, pledged the association’s support for the accountability process, saying the Bar had participated in the country’s transitional justice efforts from their early stages.
Cham said members of the association had contributed to the development of the legal framework and participated in the joint technical committee with ECOWAS working on the proposed special tribunal.
She said the bar’s mandate to promote human rights and the rule of law had informed its advocacy for accountability but cautioned that the process would require substantial financial resources.
“Good intentions alone” would not be sufficient to deliver justice, she said, noting the support provided by international and development partners.
Cham assured the Special Prosecutor of the Bar Association’s continued cooperation and urged its members to engage closely with the Special Prosecutor’s Office as it addresses the legal and practical challenges of bringing TRRC-related cases before the courts.
The meeting brought together the Registrar General, representing the Attorney General; the Special Adviser on Transitional Justice; leaders and members of The Gambia Bar Association; senior lawyers, legal practitioners and law students.